Tibet: Dalai Lama Envoys Land in China for Secretive Consultations

The envoys arrived in China today for secretive talks on allowing more autonomy for the Buddhist region. So far, no concrete results have been achieved and the Chinese government does not openly acknowledge the talks

Envoys of Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, arrived
in China on Wednesday for secretive talks on allowing more autonomy for the
Buddhist region, Tibet's government-in-exile said.

It was the fifth round of talks since contacts between China
and the Dalai Lama's representatives resumed in 2002, but there have so far
been no concrete results of a process the Chinese government does not even openly
acknowledge exists.

"Our ultimate hope is to resolve the issue of Tibet on
the basis of negotiated settlement with the Chinese leadership so that Tibet
people will have the freedom to preserve what is important to us, which is our
cultural identity," Thubten Samphel, spokesman for the government-in-exile,
said.

The Dalai Lama fled Lhasa in 1959 after a failed uprising
against Chinese rule, nine years after Communist troops invaded the remote,
mountainous region.

Although Beijing considers him a traitor, many Tibetans still
remain loyal to the figure they regard as a god-king.

Thubten Samphel said that at the previous round of talks with
the Chinese in Switzerland last year there was "very intensive, frank discussion".

"This gives us hope that these contacts will deepen and
eventually lead to peaceful settlement of the issue of Tibet," he said
by telephone from Dharamsala, the Indian hill station where the Dalai Lama is
based.

RALLYING POINT
China's United Front Work Department, which has represented the Chinese side
in past rounds, declined to comment.

But analysts say China is committed to the dialogue in part
because it fears that if the Dalai Lama, who is now 70, dies in exile, it could
create a rallying point for Tibetans unhappy with Chinese rule and leave a destabilizing
leadership vacuum.

That could also strengthen support among Tibetans for full
independence, especially among youth frustrated with Those pressures are keeping
the dialogue afloat, despite of its glacial pace, analysts say.

"The Tibetan side have been keen that they're not going
to come back unless they're convinced this is moving forward as a process,"
said one Western diplomat.

But the diplomat also cautioned that a resolution to the bitter
dispute was likely to be a long way off.

In what some saw as a confidence-building measure ahead of
the dialogue, thousands of Buddhist pilgrims from Tibet and China attended a
prayer meeting in India last month alongside the Dalai Lama.

Groups of ethnic Tibetans in western China have since burned
skins of endangered animals, following statements made by the Dalai Lama at
the ceremony emphasizing wildlife protection and calling on Tibetans not to
wear illegal furs and skins.

"It's a testament to the continued influence of the Dalai
Lama," said Kate Saunders of the International Campaign for Tibet, who
attended the prayer meeting.

The Dalai Lama also spoke publicly at the ceremony about the
dialogue with China.

"For many Tibetans it was the first time they had heard
about it," Saunders said. "There were thousands listening in complete
silence."

The Dalai Lama's "middle way" approach that advocates
autonomy for Tibet as a part of China.